The present invention relates to methods and devices for cooking poultry. A preferred method of cooking poultry is roasting, however, any other method may also be used with the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention.
When roasting poultry, juices within the poultry are released. When properly roasted, these juices are retained within the poultry to produce a juicy product. As will be explained below, improper roasting often results in undesirably dry and tough poultry.
A common method of cooking poultry is to simply place the unrestrained poultry in a roasting pan and roast the poultry in an oven. A problem with this method is that the internal cavity of the poultry is exposed through the rear and front openings in the poultry. The relatively large, internal cavity walls expose the poultry to excessive drying since the hot oven air easily passes through the front and rear openings. Another problem with simply placing the unrestrained poultry in a roasting pan is that the legs and wings stand away from the body which causes drying of the overly exposed legs and wings. Thus, simply placing unrestrained poultry in a pan and roasting the poultry may produce undesirably dry and tough poultry.
Another conventional method of preparing poultry for roasting is to "truss" the poultry with cord. The cord is wrapped around the poultry to close the front and rear openings thereby preventing exposure of the internal cavity. The cord is also wrapped around the poultry to draw the legs and wings toward the body so that they are not overly exposed thereby reducing drying of the legs and wings. Finally, the cord is also wrapped around the poultry to generally compress the poultry to further minimize the exposed surface area relative to the volume of the poultry.
A problem with the conventional method of trussing poultry with cord is that the procedure is time-consuming and requires skill to truss the poultry properly. Due to the time and difficulties involved with the conventional method of trussing with cord, roasting of poultry is often performed without trussing which leads to the problems described above. Another problem with trussing poultry with cord is that the cord often bums and breaks thereby freeing the extremities and/or allowing the front and rear openings to open.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide improved methods and devices for cooking poultry.